cnn
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Elina Svitolina came from behind to beat Storm Hunter at the French Open, just a day after watching her husband Gaël Monfils win a huge match against Sebastián Báez.
Svitolina lost the first set against her Australian counterpart 6-2, but bounced back strongly, winning the last two sets 3-6 and 1-6 to secure victory in the second round.
Monfils also lost the first set when he faced Báez. The Frenchman fought back and eventually won the game in five sets with a 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 1-6, 7-5 victory in a game that lasted three hours and 47 minutes in front of a home crowd. roaring.
Monfils' play until the end meant that Svitolina's preparations were a little more unusual than usual, but this did not affect her performance.
“I watched the whole game. “I was awake until midnight when the game ended and I immediately went to bed,” explained the Ukrainian. “I was actually sleeping well. I slept seven hours straight, which is pretty good for the Grand Slam.
“In fact, it motivated me to come back today. He was there for me today. He went out of his way to come support me, especially on a hard day like today. So he really motivated me to fight and not give up and play every point, try to give 100% effort,” Svitolina continued.
The couple married on July 16, 2021 and welcomed their daughter Skaï Monfils in October 2022. Skaï is present at the French Open and Monfils dedicated his victory to her. It's also the first tournament Mom and Dad have played in after Monfils' previous problems with injuries.
“The first tournament for us where we both played the same tournament and Skaï is also here with us in Paris. It’s really special,” Svitolina said after his win.
“So far everything is going well and we really enjoy our time together off the court, and also on the court, we try to concentrate and play the best we can.
“Of course, it is very important to have a team for Skaï, to take care of her, so that we can focus on tennis. And especially in such a big event with a lot of pressure and a lot of things happening, it is important that your mind is calm about your child and then you have your head 100%.[ing] to tennis.”
In addition to raising a child and competing in a tennis Grand Slam, Svitolina also struggles with an inescapable “heaviness” on a daily basis as a result of the war in Ukraine.
“I feel anger. I feel sad. I feel pain in my heart seeing all that. I have some Telegram channels where I follow the news from my hometown in Odessa, from all over Ukraine, and they post the news about what's happening, when the alarm goes off or where the missiles landed, you know, how many missiles were hit. for our Ukrainian army and air force,” the 28-year-old said.
“In these types of moments I feel a mixture of different feelings, but they are bad feelings. You know, they're anger, they're sadness, just heaviness. It's like that heaviness that I have every day and that all Ukrainians have. “You can’t escape this, and this is for the last year and a half that we have had that in our lives.”
The world number 192 also spoke about how she uses war as inspiration to fuel her tennis exploits.
“For me, when I go on the court, I just try to think about the fighting spirit that all Ukrainians have and how Ukrainians fight for their values, for their freedom in Ukraine. And I'm fighting here on my own front line, you know?” Svitolina noted.
“I can't be sad. I can't be distracted somehow. I'm just going to lose, you know? That's why I remember that when the war started, I was in Mexico, in Monterrey, and I was very, very sad. I almost cried when I entered the court. I had a lot of heaviness in me.
“So I thought, you know, now every time I step on the field, I'm going to go out 100% and give it my all because I'm here to do something for my country. “I have a flag next to my name, so I am fighting for my country and I will do it every time I step on the field.”
Svitolina will wait to see who she faces in the third round at Roland-Garros while Monfils prepares to face Holger Rune in the second round.
